Dholak Seller in Sirehdyodi Bazar Jaipur

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon. The temperature gauge measured 40c. It’s been a few days since I last went out for photo walk. Unlike other days, I chose “punishing” hours of mid-afternoon; mercury is at its highest between noon and 4 PM.

I was walking through the “tourist district” of Jaipur, near HawaMahal in SirehdyodiBazaar where the street is lined with the shops selling touristy merchandise.

The shopkeepers were calling me out so I could walk in their shops and buy something; it’s was an off-season from the tourist perspective. They mistook me for a foreign tourist! I was about to cross the road and walk into the Sirehdyodi Gate when someone under a banyan tree grabbed my attention trying to converse in English.

Hello….Hi…will you spare a minute? Look at these dholak…very nice…Indian music… very cheap…Come have a look.

I turned around and saw this young man sellingDholak. I pulled up my camera to compose a shot, he acknowledged by posing for a picture with a Dholak.

(Dholak is a barrel shape Indian drum often having rope type lacing and is played using two hands. Dholki is an alternative name associated with Dholak. Check out previous post associated with Dholak here)

Dholak seller near Hawa Mahal, Jaipur.

I quickly shot another frame capturing thesespare Dholaks placed on the pavement meant for selling to the tourists. His source of livelihood.

Spare Dholaks meant for sale to tourist near Hawa Mahal, Jaipur.

I wanted to strike a conversation with him. I had many questions in my mind. The reason for his injured left arm? Was he making enough money by selling Dholaks? …….

Considering I was running late and a conversation might break his illusion that I was a foreign tourist (I didn’t want to prove him wrong), I decided to move on. Some other day, I thought! I smiled and moved ahead.

Peter I would just say that we all adapt to conditions we live in. we will find it tough to live in sub zero conditions cause we’re not used to it. but yes it’s taxing in temperature beyond 42 C. Sometimes rises to 46-47 C.
🙂